Methods

Methodology

We divided the 4 elevations into south, west, north & east. The east elevation (above) was divided into 7 sections with section 1 starting in the south east corner. Section 4 was subdivided into north and south niches. The west elevation was separated into north and south sections and subdivided into 5 section starting with 1, to the north.

Graffitied stones were coded by counting them horizontally from the left of each section and upwards by courses from the base or pediment of the elevation. The coded location of the stone is visible within the photo albums.

Photography

Graffiti were looked for & photographed at 11 to 16 megapixel resolution using natural or incident light between November 2016 and January 2017. The photographs were examined in Google Photos & the filters, color, pop & light applied to achieve the best clarity.

Interpretation

Subjective interpretation applies to graffiti inscriptions. But, based on our experience & training we classified the graffiti using a pre-determined system of,

• Ritual protection marks
• Initials & names
• Dates including complete years
• Geometric shapes such as a cartouche, square, triangle or grid
• Images - recognisable objects
• Masons' marks
• Numbers
• Compass drawn designs
• Pointed stars
• Undecipherable

Statistics

Four-digit years were plotted as a histogram with 10-year buckets to inspect their distribution over time. A candlestick chart or boxplot compared the distribution of the Stables' graffiti years with those of the Mansion and Offices. Because of the large number of VV ritual protection marks or their inverse, we reduced bias by constructing a clustered column chart for all inscribed letters & isolated 'W', 'VV', 'M', 'ʌ' or 'ʌʌ' to compare the frequency of the marks.